Conventionally, workers in the meat-packing industry have worn a reusable cotton smock over their regular clothes, and then have donned a separate plastic apron to cover the front of the smock, and separate plastic sleeve covers slipped over the sleeves of the cotton smock to cover their arms. These items are worn to create a barrier between the worker and the meat with which the worker comes into contact. The cotton smock is laundered and sanitized and then packaged for reuse. To comply with applicable regulations, a given worker may require three or even more of such smocks in a single work shift because the regulations mandate donning a freshly sanitized smock after certain activities such as taking a coffee or lunch break. Thus, the laundering and sanitizing of the smocks entail a significant effort and expense.
Furthermore, there are increasingly stringent requirements for sanitation imposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and it has become increasingly difficult to meet those requirements with the cotton smocks, because of the difficulty of completely sanitizing the garments. Another disadvantage of the cotton smock is that it readily absorbs liquids. The combination of the cotton smock with plastic apron and sleeve covers also is relatively heavy and uncomfortable particularly in hot weather.